Peninsula diplomat: My second life with a top celebrity

The light first fell on his eyelids, and Jung Do-hoon slowly awoke from his dream, fragments still lingering in his mind—

A direct flight from Seoul to Jakarta, an interesting experience outside a convenience store last night, spreadsheets I worked on overtime...

What a huge mistake! He was so busy with work that he forgot to close the curtains before going to bed.

It's only six in the morning, but the streets of Jakarta are already brightly lit. Although there aren't many vehicles or pedestrians to be seen, the city has quietly awakened.

Waking up early is good, at least I don't have to deal with work as soon as I get out of bed.

Last night, Nmixx's agent even called him specifically to say that he wanted to have breakfast with him before he left for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to discuss work privately.

Breakfast was served starting at 7 a.m., and during this break, Jung Do-hoon decided to go to the gym for some cardio to start his day on a fresh start.

Maintaining a good figure is also very important. If you don't lay a good foundation when you're young, you'll inevitably develop a beer belly when you're in your thirties.

Although Sana Minatozaki is no longer there to nag him, he still finds it hard to break his habit of working out.

For a moment, he even thought that he might bump into Sana Minatozaki, who was doing Pilates at the gym, but he immediately shook his head, thinking that he was overthinking it.

So what if we meet? The two of us are just nodding acquaintances now.

However, when he pushed open the gym door and found it empty, Jung Do-hoon didn't realize that he was actually feeling a little down.

He put on his headphones, listening to the Spanish news broadcasts to solidify his language skills, and began to plan his remarks for his visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that morning.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry officials are neither enemies nor friends. They are partners who need to be persuaded.

Pressure is necessary, but it shouldn't be so strong that it embarrasses the other party.

You should offer a way out, but not too easily.

It is true that the operator Natara's bidding process was problematic, but he cannot directly accuse them—accusations would put the other party on the defensive.

He needs to make the other party realize that if this issue isn't resolved, the subsequent troubles will be even greater.

When he reached ten kilometers on the treadmill and felt a little hungry, Zheng Daoxun finally pulled himself out of his little world. Just as he was about to go back to his room to take a shower, he encountered a familiar yet unfamiliar figure in the elevator.

The girl leaned against the elevator wall, her hair casually tied up. Her face, though without makeup, was still stunning at first glance, and her doe-like eyes added a touch of cleverness to her appearance.

She looks a lot like someone, not a specific facial feature or face shape, but from certain angles, she makes people think that she might be Sana Minatozaki's younger sister.

The elevator stopped at the floor where the gym was located. The girl subconsciously looked up and saw a young man wearing a vest who was slightly sweaty.

He's the kind of handsome guy with striking features. Is he an artist from which company? I don't really recognize him...

"Annyeonghaseyo, I'm Seol-yoon from nmixx."

Her voice was clear and sweet, and she seemed a little shy.

This is completely different from Sana Minato's always cheerful tone.

Zheng Daoxun nodded slightly: "Zheng Daoxun, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, your agent invited me to have breakfast together."

"Hmm..." She stood up straight facing the elevator buttons, uttered a short exclamation, and then didn't know what to say next, "Unnie saw that I was online in the game, so she asked me to come out for breakfast together."

"What a coincidence." He could tell that the girl was rather introverted and maintained a proper social distance, so he didn't say anything more.

The elevator doors opened, and there were only a few people scattered around the restaurant. Jung Do-hoon couldn't place them and asked Seol-yoon if her manager had arrived. The girl rubbed her eyes, looked around, and shook her head.

Jung Do-hoon glanced at his watch; it was 6:50, meaning he and Seol-yoon had arrived ahead of time.

"Since you're here, let's have breakfast first." He picked up a plate, took out coffee and toast, and Xueyun followed behind him, carrying the plate, hesitating for a long time as she chose what she wanted—

As she reached the end of the buffet, Jung Do-hoon turned around with her full plate, but her plate was still empty, looking bewildered.

"Try the coconut rice and oxtail soup here; they're local specialties and very delicious."

He recommended some dishes that he thought were good. The girl nodded and turned to walk back. Zheng Daoxun saw that she was confused and couldn't tell which one was nasi lemak. He sighed and went over to get her a bowl.

Perhaps she didn't hear what he was saying at all.

Choosing a dining table is also a delicate matter. Sitting face-to-face is too formal, while sitting side-by-side is too close.

Jung Do-hoon placed the plate on a four-person table by the window, then pulled out the chair diagonally opposite him, so that nmixx's manager would be comfortable sitting anywhere.

For the first minute, neither of them spoke. Jung Do-hoon drank his coffee, while Seol-yoon stirred her bowl of coconut rice with a spoon, turning it seven or eight times before scooping up a spoonful.

Jung Do-hoon didn't think anything of it. He never felt awkward eating alone. But he noticed that Seol-yoon was scooping porridge very slowly, putting the spoon down and picking it up again, her fingers gently rubbing the handle of the spoon.

Her eating manners are too refined; she should really learn from Sana Minatozaki.

It's not that Zheng Daoxun is bragging, but as a diplomat, he has some knowledge of the cuisines of various countries. Even a woman as slender and strictly managing her weight as Minatozaki Sana has regained her normal weight after being with him.

Jung Do-hoon felt that Minatozaki Sana was cuter with a bit of chubby cheeks, unlike her, who was always pointing fingers at her partner's weight.

Thinking of Sana Minatozaki's eating habits, Jung Do-hoon couldn't help but smile. When he came to his senses, the girl diagonally opposite him was looking down blankly, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

"You must have important work to do over the next two days, right?" he asked, changing the subject.

Xueyun seemed to have been unlocked; her spoon rested on the rim of the bowl, and when it came to talking about work, she could comfortably chat with the other person.

"The book signing was originally scheduled for Tuesday in Thailand, but if my passport is delayed—I'm afraid everything will have to be scrapped and started over, like reapplying for visas and venues..."

"Even if you get your passports tomorrow, your schedule will be very tight." Jung Do-hoon pondered, feeling a bit of a headache, not because of work—

He simply felt that JYP artists were far too busy. While nmixx was alright, their senior groups Twice and ITZY were genuinely busy all year round.

"If I get my passport tomorrow, I'll book a flight right away; it should be in time."

"There's not much time to rest anymore, and you're like this..." Zheng Daoxun pointed to his eye sockets, guessing that the girl was so anxious that she couldn't sleep.

"I played games all night last night..." Xueyun paused for a moment, then her ears slowly turned red, as if she had been caught but it didn't seem like a big deal.

"...There's nothing we can do here anyway."

Her tone was a little more relaxed than before.

Jung Do-hoon lowered his head to cut his toast, a very faint smile playing on his lips. He thought of Ya-hsien.

"My sister also likes playing video games," he said, "but she's too bad at it, and she doesn't want to play for long."

Xueyun glanced at him, her lips moved but she didn't speak. Instead, Zheng Daoxun took the initiative to talk to her about his younger sister.

It turns out that her younger sister is Jung Ah-hyun from YG Entertainment. Although she hasn't officially debuted yet, Seol-yoon had already heard of her.

What a small world...

Using Ya-hsien as a topic, Seol-yoon gradually opened up to Jung Do-hoon. She tried her best to establish a mature and reliable senior artist image in front of him, saying that she could communicate more with Ya-hsien in the future...

Just as the atmosphere was developing in a friendly and relaxed direction, an alarm clock rang.

"Young Miss, it's time to get up. Young Master Shin-chan is still waiting—"

The girl froze for a few seconds, then realized what was happening and hurriedly grabbed her phone, tapping the screen several times with her thumb to turn off the alarm.

Then she froze, still clutching her phone in her hand.

Jung Do-hoon put down his coffee cup. He thought the ringing of the bell was an interesting start to the tense negotiations that would begin a few hours later.

"Nice alarm clock, is it Crayon Shin-chan?"